When my car is sitting there running, it makes.

INVADERZIMMERMAN

2000 FORD FOCUS

168,000 MILES

When my car is sitting there running, it makes many strange sounds. It sounds like it's skipping a beat (like a heartbeat), it squeaks, it shakes and rattles, and just sounds horrible overall. Should I be concerned about any of this?

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Thursday, November 8th, 2012 AT 10:36 PM

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CJ MEDEVAC

EXPERT

9,512 POSTS

IT IS POSSESSED!!!

LET'S BUY, THEN READ THRU THE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE SECTION OF ONE OF THESE...SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR CAR

THEN LET'S CATCH UP ANYTHING THAT HAS NOT BEEN DONE.....WHEN IT SHOULDA BEEN DONE!

IS YOUR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON?

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Friday, November 9th, 2012 AT 3:21 AM

INVADERZIMMERMAN

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Well, unfortunately, this car has been through the worst days. The previous owners had banged it up everywhere. It needed the alternator replaced, and it was. But it doesn't have an owner manual, or receipts or records of any matinence. The driver seat was broken, so we replaced it with a seat out of a different car. The old seat had an airbag in it, and the new one doesn't, and since the seat replacement, the check engine light has been on. I wouldn't think that would have any effect on this?

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Friday, November 9th, 2012 AT 4:42 AM

CJ MEDEVAC

EXPERT

9,512 POSTS

LET'S START WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT

IT CAN BE ON FOR MANY (HUNDRED OR MORE) REASONS

SOME ARE NOT SERIOUS---OTHERS ARE

GET IT CODED----YOU MAY HAVE A SENSOR NOT WORKING

WE GOT TWO "LOOPS"---"OPEN" AND "CLOSED"

OPEN MEANS THE SENSORS ARE GIVING THE COMPUTER "REAL TIME" INFO, EXAMPLE: O2 SENSOR IS TELLING THE COMPUTER THE OXYGEN CONTENT IN THE EXHAUST SO IT CAN ADJUST THE INJECTORS TO GET THE MOST EFFICIENT "BURN" POSSIBLE

BEING THAT IT TAKES A BIT FOR THE O2 TO WARM UP TO "TRANSMIT" INFO. HOW DOES THE ENGINE RUN?

THE ENGINE RUNS "CLOSED LOOP"---WHICH MEANS THE COMPUTER HAS "PRESET" VALUES PROGRAMMED INTO IT--IT RUNS OFF OF THEM, UNTIL ALL SENSORS COME ON-LINE. CLOSED LOOP SORTA MEANS, "FED FALSE INFO", THAT WILL MAKE THE ENGINE RUN---THIS "LOOP" IS NOT EFFICIENT, USUALLY YOU WILL NOTICE IT RUNS RICH--MPG GOES DOWN!

THIS IS NOT ONLY TRUE FOR THE O2 SENSORS, BUT OTHER SENSORS NOT WORKING WILL CAUSE THIS (STAYING IN CLOSED LOOP)---CLOSED LOOP IS BASICALLY "DEFAULT"

I'M NOT GREAT ON NEWER VEHICLES, IMMA JEEP CJ KINDA GUY '40-'86 IS WHAT I KNOW THE BEST. BEFORE COMPUTERS!

MANY POPULAR AUTO PARTS STORES WILL "CODE YOU" FOR FREE

WRITE DOWN THE #s--THEY WILL BE IN A FORMAT SORTA LIKE "P0345" OR ANOTHER MADE UP EXAMPLE IS "PO445"